St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-04-16
BLETHEN AND THE TRIBUNE
What Elder Stewart Has to Say
about Them.

ABOUT mem.
To the Editor of the Globe.
In the Minneapolis Tribune of April TO-
MIR. Blethen unqualifiedly asserts that: II
(Blethen) have been looking up the elders
schedule of property, and out Of the 400. O50
pieces of lands which stand in his name
cannot find that the elder ever purchased one
piece in the legitimate and ordinary way.
These parcels seem to have come down to the
elder through tax titles or foreclosure of
mortgages So far as titles drawn through
mortgage foreclosures are concerned, q man
who does not know enough to understand
that such a title is as common and as honor
able as one by warranty deed, or any other
title is too low in the scale of intelligence to
warrant the waste OF a single word with.
Probably, at least, nine-tenthS of all the
property in Minneapolis and ST. Paul draw
titles through mortgage foreclosures. AS to
tax titles, there is not a foot of land on the
face of the earth that claim to be mine
under tax title. And there are only three
pieces OF land, two Of them fortieS and one
eighty acres, on which L hold any claim by
taxes, to which l do not also hold the legal
government title, and l have had no others
III many years. And should he pleased to
let Mr.. Blethen or anybody else have all my
title to them for decidedly less than it would
take by far to redeem them through the
county auditor. l never tried to hold q piece
of land on a tax title alone. Again, Mr.
a paltry living was not purchased as honest
men purchase homes. 1t was obtained in
such q manner as to give to its original owner
a mere pittance of its real value, and Stewart
has had to live upon and retain possession
twenty years to obtain decent
title thereto" Mr.. Blethen starts off with
the assertion that he had looked up the title
to my place, and if he tells the truth, then ne
has not even the poor excuse of hearsay,
that he was told so, and cannot plead that in
extenuation of his false statements. If he
has looked up the title he knows, as is the
fact, that there never was any dispute in re-
gard to my title to two-thirds Of the half block
where l live, and that the title Of the one
| third that was in litigation, was formerly
owned by William S. Chapman, then resi-
dent of our city, and who was undoubtedly
the sharpest, shrewdest, keenest man, that
| ever lived in it, That he owned it for several
years, and after he had permanently removed
to San Francisco, sold and conveyed the
premises to me by warranty deed, which con-
| veyed full government title, as was held
by the supreme court of our state, after a
pretty thorough trial of the case, which is
reported in volume 81. Minnesota Reports,
page 435, and no question or suggestion of
any tax title was ever made or raised in re-
gard to the place. All this Mr.. Bletheu
| knows to be true, if, as he asserts, he looked
up the title to the place. And I reckon all
of the old citizens of Minneapolis would smile
at the suggestion that l or anybody else could
| cheat or get the better Of William S. Chap
man. In fact, III. r. Wells, John 81. Stevens
! and George w. Chowen, all said at the time,
| that paid Mr.. Chapman more than the prop
erty was then worth. And for the other two
thirds of the place 1 paid Sarah A. Wright
| $1,000 more than e. S. Jones and 8. II. Matti-
| son said it was worth and more than they
| would pay for it, or any one else besides my
| self. So much as to the title of the place
| where live. Last August when MIR. Blethen
| inSinuated, what he directly charges now
that had acquired my property by sharp
| practices, and by robbing widows and Or
| phans, publicly proposed to him that he
| should investigate how / obtained it, and
| promised him in every case he could find in
which ] had wronged anybody of any sum
| whatever, that would at once restore ten
| foil for every such case to the person
wronged. and would also give to MIR. Blethen
! as much more for his services in the matter,
| thus restoring and paying $40 for every
| every dollar / had thus taken. And row
| Twill not only renew that offer to him. but /
| will also make him this additional offer, that
| every piece of land in the world, claimed to
| be owned by me, that he or body else can
| find, that 1 Ibid not get in the legitimate and
! ordinary way" as he asserts 1t, will give the
whole of every such piece or parcel to char
| liable institutions, and will also give to Mr.
Blethen individually $1,000 for every such
| piece or tract so discovered. And l invite
| Mr. Blethen to publish the whole of this letter
| in his paper so as to attract the attention of
| those have wrOnged in order that they may
come and inform him of the facts, and then